DOWNTON ABBEY

Will Downton Abbey’s Anna and Bates Be Able to Find Happiness After the Mr. Green Saga?

If you haven’t seen Downton Abbey’s fourth season, beware of spoilers below.

Last season on Downton Abbey, we watched as downstairs darling Anna endured the most difficult storyline of the season. After being raped by Lord Gillingham’s valet, Mr. Green, the trauma of the incident understandably caused Anna to recoil from her husband, Bates, in fear that she was an unfit wife. Although she refused to identify her attacker to Bates—who vowed to take matters into his own hands—the season’s storyline ended with Green being killed in a London “car accident” which suspiciously occurred on Bates’s day off.

When we bumped into Downton’s Joanne Froggatt, the Emmy-nominated actress who plays Anna, at this weekend’s BAFTA tea party, we couldn’t help but wonder if her character and Bates are able to reclaim some semblance of marital normalcy next season.

“They start Season 5 in a not-so-positive light,” Froggatt conceded. “Obviously they have a lot to overcome and it won’t happen very quickly. And they may never get to the end. There’s still this cloud hanging over them. They’re trying to find the space to heal themselves and move forward with their lives.”

Despite their best efforts, the issue of Mr. Green’s suspicious fatal accident seems to disrupt any forward progress for the duo. “There’s also the issue of Mr. Green’s death,” she told us, “Which keeps getting brought back up. It’s difficult to escape this thing they’re trying to escape. There are some moments of happiness though.”

Asked how she felt about the polarizing story arc this past season, Froggatt told us, “I love to be challenged as an actress. I think we all do our best work, regardless of industry, when we’re under a little bit of pressure. I was very honored to be given this storyline and I took it as a big responsibility and I put my heart and soul into it.”